I’m an official member of the Windtunnel Club!

[royalfan103]

You’re welcome! I’m getting an original Turbo Tool for mine in a few days.

 

[kirbyklekter]

turbo tool

I'm glad you are getting an original to that machine. Years ago I put a turbo tool that went to another less powerful machine, on the hose of a strong canister vac

I don't remember the make. It started screeching as it revved up and started to
vibrate violently and before I could shut the machine off, the turbo tool literally

exploded all over my room. I got hit with pieces of plastic. I've never heard of
that happening to anyone.It looked like I ran the car over it! Who knew?

 

[royalfan103]

Oh, that’s dangerous.

That actually happened to many people with Dirt Devil Turbo Tools and those eventually got recalled back in 2008.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2008/d...ssory-tools-recalled-due-to-laceration-hazard

 

[wstonehockertv]

The Windtunnel actually came out in 1997, NOT 1996!

 

[royalfan103]

Oh, okay. Thanks for the correction.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Exploding turbo tool

Oh wow, I bet my turbo tool was most likely a dirt devil. It was a clear yellow and green model. I wonder if we should post a warning about that recall since there are

more than a few new members here on the younger side,late teens and 20 something, who collect Dirt Devil anything and might not be aware of the recall. I know there's

probably more than a few of the offending turbo tools still out there since a lot of people didn't get the notice or had already moved on to another cleaner. I hope

nobody else gets hurt because the possibility is very real.

 

[royalfan103]

Think there should be a post about this recall since I agree that there still could be a number of offending Turbine Tools in the hands of some collectors. There was a thread, but that was long ago. Luckily, I don’t have one these and my turbo tools have never exploded. I’m guessing Dirt Devil no longer offers repair kits for them and the solution now is to get a replacement.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Wow! I totally forgot about that recall

A shame.TTI dropped the ball on that one. Sorry this had to happen .


 Thanks!


 

 

[royalfan103]

You’re welcome! I’ll make a thread about the recall..

 

[royalfan103]

This also happened with the Scorpion Hand Vac.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2015/Dirt-Devil-Recalls-Hand-Vac-Turbo-Tool-Accessory

 

[huskyvacs]

My Windtunnel in my video was a recalled model that was recalled because the handle switch could fail and catch fire. It's not happened and was never replaced.

Also about Dirt Devil recalls - don't forget the Dirt Devil Kone which was recalled because small debris could get past the filter when the vacuum was tilted at a certain angle, go into the motor, and be thrown out the motor exhaust into your face and eyes.

 

[niclonnic]

About the Kone...

Although it looks stylish (designed by Karim Rashid), I've never used one of those myself. However, I have heard reports about it spewing dust out of its exhaust.

In late 2006, Popular Mechanics did an "abusive lab test" where they pitted the Kone against two other then-new handheld vacuums: the Black & Decker Pivot Vac and the Dyson DC16 Root 6. I'll share the video here.

 

[royalfan103]

An update…

Got the turbine tool! I retr0brighted the top since it was yellowed. After some lube for the tool. It works great!

 

[panasonicvac]

When I was living down in the Grand Canyon state a few years ago, one of the vacuums I used down there was this Eureka The Boss 4D Pet Fresh. That thing felt very hot on the fingertip switch like it would almost burn my thumb. I was surprised those never got recalled because I saw other online reviews at the time with consumers having the same issue as I did since I thought something was wrong with the one that I had used. I liked that vacuum overall but that hot fingertip switch was a deal breaker for me.

 

[huskyvacs]

I still don't know how the switches can get hot like that. Were they just using cheap switches that couldn't handle the current flow and started melting from the current draw?

 

[royalfan103]

Yeah, it’s definitely likely that they used cheap switches that would overheat due to the current.

 

[kirbyklekter]

RetrObright

Is that the name of a product you use to deal with aged and discolored plastics? If it is, then I've got some shopping to do real soon!

 

[kirbyklekter]

Ordered!

Went online and ordered a bottle. Any tips? I saw that it can take more than one application to achieve results. Someone wrote that it can sometimes make the plastic more brittle. Depends on the type of plastic and age/condition of said plastic I would guess.

 

[royalfan103]

Sorry for the late response.

Retr0bright is the name of a process using H2o2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) and a heat source or UV light. You can retr0bright things without a UV light using Sunlight and if you wanna be less wasteful, you can use some Salon Care Volume 30 and some cling wrap.

Since you bought a bottle, what brand did you order? I’d like to look up the brand for tips..

 

[kirbyklekter]

Ditto on late response from me

I actually bought the 16oz. bottle of Retrobrite from Amazon.com 19.95 per spray bottle. There were 239 reviews and the majority gave 4/5 star results. There were many

recipe's for making your own batch. I haven't had the time to go through all that was mentioned about using and results. Other brands are available. One key point I took

away so far was you have to keep the solution wet after applying as it stops working once it dries out so there are things you can do to prolong the process.Patience is prudent!